No Doubt

The Blackhawks put the hammer down in the second period and rolled over the Calgary Flames 7-1 on Thursday night.

The Hawks have now outscored the Flames 13-1 over the last five periods. The stunned Calgary crowed appeared to stay around for the final frame  although the team provided a listless effort to conclude the match. The score could have been more lopsided as Cristobal Huet was great and the Hawks hit the post on three occasions.

Huet was in control for almost the entire game. The scrambling Huet was not seen very often last night. He stayed poised and was able to stonewall the Flames.

Except for a goal by Olli Jokinen, who recently has been scoring at a dismal clip, Huet was flawless. He was almost beat in the second period while the Hawks led 2-1. But with great reactions and a little luck Huet was able to make a highlight reel save on Jay Bouwmeester. It came at a key time and the Hawks rolled on from there.

The best Christmas present for Hawk fans would be for Huet to prove he is not the weak link on this potent team. He has a chance in the next month to erase many doubts. It is true Huet has never won a playoff series but he looked like a Stanley Cup winning goalie last night.

New Calgary coach Brent Sutter, had to be fuming over the embarrassing home loss. What should be very concerning is the lay down effort the Flames put forth in the final period.  After the Hawks scored their fourth goal the boys from Calgary packed it in. That type of effort on home ice, against a divisional rival can’t be tolerated.

The Hawks have a great opportunity to jump off to a solid start on their long road trip. The Oilers are a team they can beat especially if they put forth the same type of complete effort. The second half of the back to back against the Canucks on Sunday should be a more formidable test.

There are no soft games in the NHL these days so the Hawks can’t get caught looking ahead.

Al’s Shots

Not sure why there was a rush to get the re-signing story out earlier this week. It didn’t make sense in front of the long road trip. All sides are close to getting a deal done and unless some major snags are hit look for the signing parade to happen in early December.

With an affordable $1,000,000 contract, Troy Brouwer could be the best Hawk bargain of this season.

Bryan Bickell came up with another solid effort last night.

The Hawks best players were great as was everyone else.

Brent Sopel and the rest of the defenders had some nice blocks.

John Madden was the team leader with five blocked shots.

Jonathan Toews won 11 out of 15 faceoffs….73%.

Niklas Hjalmarsson has been playing more physical in the last few games. He laid a big hit on Rene Bourque, which did not land him in the penalty box. He did leave his feet on the check….so Colin Campbell may have something to say.

Dion Phaneuf gets a ton of media attention in Canada. But from a pure hockey standpoint there is no way he should make the Canadian Olympic team ahead of Duncan Keith or  Brent Seabrook. Phaneuf isn’t even one of the Flames top two defensemen.

Dion is another big “tough” guy who drops his gloves and leaves his shield on.

Any player who initiates a fight and keeps his visor on while his opponent doesn’t have a shield…… should receive a game misconduct.

Patrick Kane celebrated his 21st birthday with a goal.

blackhawskwin@comcast.net